The Dodo Archive

Animals Love Being Killed, Says Car Company In Twisted New Ad

There is often a fine line between what's funny and what's in poor taste - but this twisted commercial from Toyota doesn't merely straddle that line, it crashes through it like a runaway train.

"Animals love being killed" is the rather disturbing message behind the popular carmaker's latest ad for its Hilux line of trucks. The short video spot, uploaded to YouTube last month by Toyota New Zealand, shows a range of wild animals waxing poetic about their desire to die if it means coming in contact with a Hilux.

"Oh joy! To be upon the new Hilux, transported," intones an elk approaching a group of hunters. "We'll not be hunted - but happily courted!"

Seriously, WTF, Toyota?

While the animals in the ad are clearly computer-animated, the morbid glorification and manner of their deaths is deeply rooted in the real world. In fact, according to Toyota general marketing manager Andrew Davis, who ordered the commercial, killing animals is what enjoying nature is all about.

"This ute [utility vehicle] continues this legacy and also delivers on the increasing urban appetite for utes and Kiwi's love of the great outdoors, so it was important that the latest campaign spoke to this emerging group of city dwellers," Davis told the advertising journal StopPress.

Toyota, a company that touts itself as being "eco friendly," may want to rethink this one - unless the goal of the ad is to be as self-destructive with their brand as the unfortunate animals depicted in it.